Tennessee Primary Review: Voting Underway

Tennessee Primary Review: Voting Underway

With early voting July 17-August 1, the political landscape is in full motion. Editor-In-Chief for Tennessee Lookout Holly McCall and host Ben Hall go over the candidates you will vote for in the Primary Election. The two cover Republican and Democratic candidates for Tennessee Governor and various U.S. Congressional district races. McCall says after the Republican super majority created new districts, politics in Tennessee is center stage, "There's been a lot of conversation about the fact that there have been no debates or forums. And quite frankly, it's been many years since that we saw like a head to head debate between candidates, but as least a forum where the candidates can answer questions and talk about issues. " McCall sees a pattern, "Over the last decade, we've seen an unwillingness with Republican candidates or elected officials to engage with Democrats, in part because they feel like in a super red state they don't have to, but it is unusual that we're not seeing a forum between these three Republicans. And that lies largely, almost entirely, I would say with US Senator Marsha Blackburn, who has failed to respond. I'm on the board of the Tennessee Press Association. We asked her to participate in a forum. She didn't respond." NewsChannel 5 also asked Blackburn to participate in a forum with John Rose and Monty Fritts. She declined. Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot 28: over the air channel 28 or Comcast 1028.  Stream it live on newschannel5.com/live3, or through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics]   Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

After Redistricting--Are We Ready for Elections?

When Tennessee Republicans redrew the state’s congressional maps this past May at the request of President Trump to secure additional seats, critics warned the changes could trigger voter confusion like the fallout from the 2022 gerrymandering effort. During that election cycle, some voters received incorrect ballots or cast votes in the wrong congressional district. But Davidson County election officials say they have taken extra steps to prevent those issues from happening again. Administrator of Elections for the Metro Nashville-Davidson County Election Commission, John D. Richardson, says advances in technology and a detailed verification process have helped ensure voters are assigned to the correct districts. "This time around, we actually created a plan very intentionally going through the map and making sure that each and every voter was geo-marked and then making sure they were in our database. And then going through a six-step process to make sure that those three congressional districts, the 4th, 6th and 7th, are properly mapped in Nashville so that every voter has a home, so they know exactly where to vote on election day. " Last month, the Davidson County Election Commission mailed new canary-yellow voter registration cards to residents, identifying their correct Election Day voting locations.   Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot 28: over the air channel 28 or Comcast 1028.  Stream it live on newschannel5.com/live3, or through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics] This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Future of the First Amendment

As we celebrate the 4th of July, we are celebrating the idea of our country- The one encapsulating sentence in the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." These words are the building blocks of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Director of the Free Speech Center at MTSU Ken Paulson says, "Think about this, a nation that said to its people, you can say whatever you want, you can pray freely, you can write whatever you want, and other things." But today Paulson says we are not the perfect union first generation Americans strived for. "Our nation is not in a harmonious place right now, but if we embrace true liberty, true listening, true free speech, if we embrace these principles for real without the hypocrisy that is so common, we get fixed." Paulson says today's use and view of Free Speech has become "Free speech for me, but not for thee." He says , "the documents are still there, we just forgot how to use it. "   Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot 28: over the air channel 28 or Comcast 1028. Stream it live on newschannel5.com/live3, or through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics]     Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Strategy for Democrats for Mid-terms

TN State Democratic Chair Rachel Campbell presents Democratic candidates in the Aug. 6, 2027 primary election saying all their platforms address real TN problems, not mean-spirited rhetoric. Five Democratic Candidates are running to be Tennessee's governor. Campbell presents a brief introduction to Carnita Atwater from Memphis, Tim Cyr from Gallatin, Jerri Green from Memphis, Adam "Ditch" Kurtz from Nashville, and Kevin Lee McCants from Murfreesboro. Campbell says, "We see rising gas prices, energy prices, unaffordable housing everywhere. The cost of education is too high. People can't afford to put their kids in daycare anymore. The Republicans aren't trying to solve these problems. They are trying to solve made-up problems to stay in the culture war. We are doing the real work trying to make it more affordable to live in Tennessee and elect candidates that believe in human rights, believe in affordability, and believe all our neighbors deserve a fair shot. The next generation deserves more than what they are getting." NewsChannel 5+ programs can be seen on Comcast/Xfinity Ch 1028 and over the air on Ch. 28.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 [https://www.newschannel5.com/live3]   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  You can view episodes of Inside Politics on https://www.newschannel5.com/plus [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus] Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

A Conversation with Lamar Alexander

Former U.S. Senator and Governor of Tennessee Lamar Alexander says the reason he went into politics was to help the most people he could. He believed he could do more and help more in the public sector than in the private sector. In his new book, "The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump", Alexander gives detailed stories and insight from working with 10 presidents during some of the most important moments in US History. A traditional Republican, Alexander doesn't agree with the extreme right point of view, but he doesn't like being called a moderate. Alexander says, "Conservatism properly understood includes flexibility and patience... If you're elected, there will likely be people who disagree with you, so if you want a result, you have to adjust your position to deal with them. One of my principles is flexibility... How are you ever going to do anything unless you compromise? How did we get Medicaid? How did we get Medicare? How did we get the National Park System? How did we get this country?... The whole political process is to take principles we mostly agree with and try to fit them together in a way most people can live with the result. That's what you do in public life." As governor, Alexander worked to build a strong two-party system when Tennessee was a Democratic supermajority, but today he thinks the Democrats need to learn how to get elected. Other topics include President Obama, January 6 and rebuking the Far-Right, Education and Policy Reform, and the loss of a strong two party system in Tennessee. Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on NewsChannel 5.2, Comcast 250, Spectrum/Charter 182 or stream it live on newschannel5.com/live3, or through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics]   Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics [https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.